Your father shows me A toddler seat For his bicycle And my breath stops How can I send you both Out into the world Riding at speed On these tiny scraps of metal Among the menacing hordes Of automotive monsters? I joke that I would like To wrap the two of you In bubble wrap But am I joking really? The thing is Wrapping someone In bubble wrap Is not such a great idea When I wake in the early hours Fresh from strange dreams Of pandemics and post-structuralism I have a terrifying image Of you encased tightly in plastic Slowly suffocating under the layers Of insulation that I have tenderly Wound around you to keep you safe It is something people say All the time, 'I want to wrap You up in bubble wrap' It means I love you I thought I was just doing What mothers do I never dreamed that I was more dangerous Than the things I fear So instead I offer to wrap you In a silky-soft down comforter Hoping you don't have Your father's allergy to feathers But I suppose You would rather Take your chances On the toddler seat
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